


A World Apart

by RikuKingdomHearts3, tmart_x13



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen, MerMay, MerMay 2020, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, merfolk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24007027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RikuKingdomHearts3/pseuds/RikuKingdomHearts3, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmart_x13/pseuds/tmart_x13
Summary: Roxas always felt like there was something missing from his life, but he couldn't explain it. He never knew his real parents... all he had was a wristband with his name. One day, however, something unexpected happens when he goes for a swim. He finds himself face to face with a strange, yet familiar boy, who, instead of legs... has a tail!
Kudos: 26





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is May 2020 and that also means MerMay! So here tmart and I (Riku) have a new story for all of you guys! It has a lot to it so we hope you guys will enjoy what we have to offer!

The evening had proven to not be a good one, and as night had come, it seemed to get more irritating. The road at that time was poorly lit. Even with the few street lights situated along the road, it was barely enough by which to see. It didn't help that fog had also decided to play a cruel game that night. It crawled its way onto the landscape, between the trees, onto the road, and covered the lone car that was traveling on said road.

The man who drove the car tried to keep a slow and steady pace, keeping his eyes fixed on everything in front of him. Be narrowed his eyes in an attempt to see better.

"Of all the nights, the weather just had to be unfavorable," he grumbled.

Meanwhile, a woman in the passenger seat spoke up quickly. "Well let's just hope we can make it."

She then turned around, looking at the back row of seats. Her heart couldn't help but skip a few beats when she turned her eyes on what was there.

Two blond, slightly spiky-headed boys were each enclosed in a car seat as they traveled. They were fast asleep, with not a care in the world about what was happening around them. But that could also be the fact that these boys were barely even a year old. They were so small and so new to the world and what it had to offer.

"They still got their wristbands on?" the man asked without turning his head in the slightest.

"Of course, and they _always_ will," the woman replied.

"Good, good. Just wanted to be sure. Just wanted to make sure… that it really was working."

"She promised us that it would. They would be safe with it, and right now, it seems perfectly fine."

"I know what she promised us, but it's just hard to believe after so many bad things have happened to us," the man replied before turning left at a fork in the road.

The sudden turn took them around a bend for a few minutes until they seemed to escape the many tees that adorned the side of the road. It revealed a clearing that would have revealed a beautiful night sky, if only the fog had not been so dense. However, the further they got from the trees, the more the fog cleared up. They were now driving down a vast shoreline next to the ocean, which was where all the fog had now gathered.

"Thank goodness it cleared up some," the woman spoke with a tinge of relief in her voice.

"Yeah, me too," the man replied shortly.

Silence befell the vehicle as they continued their drive. The beach area was quite large because of the coastal town they were a part of, so it would take a good bit of travel to get away from it. Soon enough, more trees started to line the other side of the road again, which meant the fog would begin to become an issue again.

However, as they approached, the fog not only began to thicken, but it seemed to become more dense than usual. It was so thick that the bright light that had been shown from the moon was snuffed out completely.

"What _is_ this?!" The man complained.

He squinted his eyes and inched closer to the windshield in an attempt to gain some visibility. But it became ever darker inside that cloud of fog, almost like they were in a tunnel of some kind.

"Honey, you might wanna slow down. We can't see anything," the woman warned with a panic rising in her being.

As he tried to step on the brakes, he felt no resistance at all. The brakes weren't working. He repeatedly tried his best, but nothing worked.

"I-I can't stop the car!"

"What?!"

"Here let me try this," he said as he raised his hand, trying to remain somewhat calm.

His wife joined him, knowing what he was trying to do. "I'll help you. We have to keep the boys safe," she spoke as her voice shook.

They joined their hands together and began to chant some words. However, they didn't get to finish what they started. They both yelled quickly, and then a sharp wave of darkness encompassed the entire vehicle.

* * *

Sirens blared as the police vehicle raced down the empty road, the fog from earlier having lifted completely by now. The moon shined brightly on the way, making it easier to get to their destination. They continued to speed down the road until they saw the cut off leading down to the shore.

The ocean glistened softly in the pale moonlight, providing quite the scenic view despite the situation. While traveling down the shoreline, from a short glance, the ocean could be seen in all its nighttime beauty. Waves gently washes up and down the shoreline while the moon reflected lightly on the water's surface. Unfortunately this was not the right time for sightseeing.

Eventually, smoke could be seen ahead as the car slowly came to a stop. Just several feet beyond where the car was stopped, the policemen could see the source of what had brought the smoke. There was a lone car situated beside the railing on the side of the road, with severe damage evident from just looking.

There were already firemen and paramedics surrounding the car, doing everything they could to manage the situation. Meanwhile, another couple of policemen were taking in the scene and taking notes over what they saw.

The policeman who had been driving stepped out of the car and started walking towards the scene. One of the other officers saw him and headed over in his direction.

Once he got close, his face showed how grim the situation was. "Lieutenant John Smith. It's terrible," he whispered. "We all got here as soon as the call was made, but… just follow me."

The two walked over to an area where two long black bags were. "Two adults. A man and a woman… married by the looks of it. But found dead by the time the parademcis got here."

"No sightings of how it happened?"

"No, the woman who made the call said she only had heard the crash and saw the smoke. She never came close, already had another man interview her just in case."

"So no witnesses or anyone to give us any further information?"

"Well aside from the crash, it shows they were speeding, we don't have much to go on."

"We'll take the car in for examination later to see if we can find any evidence," the Lieutenant started. "So, anything else so far?"

The man looked down for a moment. "Well, there is this one thing…"

"And what would that be?"

The other policeman cleared the way through as they headed over to the ambulance. The doors to the back were opening and one of the parademcis was holding something small. Upon closer inspection, Lieutenant Smith saw that it was a little baby, fast asleep.

"A child? Theirs I assume?"

"Yeah, but unlike the parents, the child is perfectly unharmed."

The officer scratched his head. "How can that be?"

"Too hard to tell, other than that wristband seems to have some odd presence about it. Could it be...magic?"

"Magic?" the lieutenant scoffed. "Don't tell me you believe in that crap."

"Well you tell me how a baby survives a deadly car crash without a scratch. We found the baby still safely in its car seat, but knocked onto the floor of the car from the impact of the crash. It was crying and scared but not at all injured."

"Well, that is why we will let the experts handle things like that here. They'll find out what happened," the lieutenant said nonchalantly.

Just then, one of the emergency workers that was examining the car further yelled out. "We found something!"

The lieutenant, having heard the shout, jogged back over to the car. "What do you have?"

The man directed the lieutenant towards the bushes next to the road. "There's… another car seat."

"Yeah, we just found it. It's toppled over, but we're not sure if it was ejected or what. The back glass is broken so that could mean something," the responder commented.

"So then where in the hell is the other child? It's possible that it was just in there and nobody was in it. But the other alternative is…" he trailed off, almost not wanting to think about that option.

"What do you want us to do then?"

The lieutenant breathed deeply before speaking. "Get some more background information on parents, and if possible locate next of kin. We'll have to tell them anyways. Also ask to see if a baby was staying with anyone. And…" he gulped but then continued. "Check the surrounding bushes and area just in case the baby was thrown from the seat…"

"We'll find out what it was, sir…" the officer tapered off and hung his head.

"Good, do that and let me know first thing."

The lieutenant knew what must be on the man's mind. It was the same thing that was on his mind. He clicked his tongue slightly and turned away to look out at the shore. The waves had shown a lot of activity that night, especially under the full moon.

He stared out at the ocean before him, letting the situation sink into his mind. It always started like this for nearly every investigation. Something would bring up far too many questions and a lot of digging would be needed after that. Sometimes, he wished that it could just be simple.

The waves had calmed down finally for a moment and had receded from the shore. Something suddenly caught his eye though. A faint ripple in the water appeared, almost like something was there. But, there were not any fish that close inland. Then, a couple of more ripples in the water appeared, like something was slowly moving beneath the water. But that couldn't be right.

He turned around to one of the other officers. "Do you see that?"

"See what, sir?"

"There in the water," he said as he pointed to where he had just seen the movement. "Something is going on there."

By the time that he and the other man had looked back, there was no more activity to be had. And before much longer, the waves came back inland and crashed up against the shore, making any signs of any more activity unnoticeable.

"I'm sorry, but I don't see anything," the man replied.

The lieutenant looked back and forth at the water at different parts, but nothing else could be seen except for the low tides rushing in and out. A sigh escaped him.

"Never mind. Maybe I'm just overthinking or tired," the lieutenant said with an unhappy tone. "But, maybe we should check down around the beach area as well."

The other officer was slightly shocked. "May I ask why? There can't really have been anything down there."

"I'm well aware. But just follow my orders. We are searching for a possible missing child. We can't rule out anything."

"Right!"

They tried their hardest to look over the area, but in the end they had no further evidence than what they started with. There was no other sign of another kid nor anyone else who could have been in the area. Seeing as they could not conclude or find anything else, they stopped the search for the night and would resume by morning.

The baby was in the care of one of the paramedics when the officers had finished their search. After receiving word that nobody else had been found, they handed the baby over to the lieutenant.

"I'll take him from here. Get him to someplace that can take care of him," the lieutenant said.

The ambulance worker nodded gently at the reply.

The lieutenant walked back to his vehicle, with the baby in his arms. Once there, he placed him down on the back seat. He went back to grab the car seat and proceeded to strap it in on the other side before placing the baby inside of it.

His eyes situated on the wristband again. His mind flitted back to what his underling had spoken about. Could it really have been magic? No, that's not possible.

As he focused on it some more, he saw something under the wristband, as it was slightly loose on the arm. Upon closer inspection, he saw it was an engraving. It was a name and birthday.

"Well I'll be. At least this helps with your ID. Roxas, eh? Such a peculiar name," he spoke to the child now known as Roxas. "Don't worry, we will make sure you end up in a good place."


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are with chapter 2! Time to get into more fun story!!

_8 years later_

Summer. It was always the hottest part of the year, especially near a coastal town such as this. The sun shined high in the sky that day, it's radiance letting off a good amount of heat onto the earth below. The water from the ocean glistened in the beaming sun, not a single cloud in sight to interrupt its radiance. Waves rushed in and out of the shoreline, with various people occupying its pathway and waiting for the semi-coolness of the water to wipe away the brisk heat, even if only for a moment.

After all, that's what summer was supposed to be about. Being outside, enjoying the sunny beach, and spending time with others.

At least, that's how it was for most people.

A couple miles inland, there was a large two story house situated on top of a hill that almost overlooked the rest of the town. It consisted of a solid wooden frame from a first glance, with red details lining the parts that were not the natural wooden hue. Overall, it wasn't the fanciest place, but nearly everyone in the small town knew about it.

On the balcony of the second story, a boy stood outside, allowing the wind to brush his face as it made his spiky blond hair wave in return. He stared out at the bit of ocean that he could see, the color being reflected in his eyes.

" _I wonder what all is out there… I can't help but wonder. I've always wanted to see it, but we usually don't get to go anywhere."_

He stared for a bit longer, before holding up his hand towards where the ocean was, as if he could reach out to it from where he was. Though, of course that was not possible. He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift off into nothingness.

"You just gonna keep standing there like an idiot?"

The sudden presence of another voice shook him from his thoughts. He turned around to see who had spoken, even though the tone of the voice gave it away. His eyes then laid on another boy with black spiky hair that stuck out in many directions. He had a smirk on his face as the sun glinted inside of his amber-colored eyes.

"What is it Vanitas?" he asked his brother with an exasperated sigh.

"Dad called you quite a few times, but you never answered. So of course I had to come and see what was going on."

"Huh? He was calling me? What's he need?"

"I don't know, Roxas. Maybe you should go… and you know ask him," Vanitas replied before he rolled his eyes.

"Okay," Roxas replied before he moved away from his spot. As soon as he walked past Vanitas, he was caught in a headlock and his hair was being ruffled. "H-Hey! Cut it out Vanitas!"

"Why should I? Gotta ruffle my brother's hair whenever I get the chance," Vanitas taunted.

"Then go ruffle Sora's hair instead!"

"I already did, and now it is your turn, brother," Vanitas chuckled before finally letting go.

Roxas didn't respond and only walked by Vanitas, leaving him standing in the doorway.

Roxas marched his little legs down the stairs slowly, wondering what it was that his dad wanted to talk about. He thought that he might have an idea about what it was, but he wasn't really sure. Once he made it all the way down, he saw the familiar long, red, spiky hair around the corner close to the living room. He then entered the room and decided to make his presence known.

"You wanted to see me dad?"

The man turned around and looked down at Roxas. "Ah yes. I wanted to talk to you about something," he said simply with a half smile on his face, the other side of his mouth almost forming an indifference.

His dad was very tall and lanky, towering over any of them by a good bit. But despite there being so much distance between their heights, he could see those emerald eyes anywhere. His father would always wear the same color palette too, red and black. There was always some gingham pattern on the flannel shirts that he would wear. All of that made him unmistakable from anyone else.

"Come sit down with me for a moment," his father spoke up as he guided him towards the couch.

The two of them sat down rather quickly, as the red-haired man turned to his son. He then pulled out two blue items from his shirt pockets that he had on. "Here, some sea salt ice cream is always a good start to a conversation."

"All right!" Roxas shouted for joy. He took the ice cream quickly, beginning to eat it before it could start to melt. He always enjoyed the sea salt ice cream, and his father always insisted on eating it almost every day. That was one of the many things that Roxas liked about his dad.

The two of them sat there for a moment and ate quietly for a few seconds. Then the silence was once again broken. "Okay, so what I wanted to talk to you about. I know it's something I haven't really brought up in a while, but it's about _that_ ," he pointed towards Roxas's wrist. "Do you remember?"

Roxas's eyes shifted down towards the wristband that was on his lower arm. He turned part of it over to see there was an engraved part that read ' _Roxas_ '. After he folded it back, he rubbed it gently, recalling the strange event that had happened before. "Yeah… I do."

* * *

_5 years ago_

A little Roxas sat on the couch reading a book, though he honestly wasn't reading anything, he was just looking at the pretty pictures. He hummed softly as he casually flipped through the pages, looking to see what happened next in the story.

Suddenly a little black haired child came running into the room. "Whatcha reading?"

Roxas looked up at the boy. He was Vanitas, one of his new older brothers. "Imma reading about a puppy walking in a park, but I dunno what some of the words say yet."

Vanitas stared at the book and then shrugged. "Maybe dad can read to you later. But I wanna talk!"

Roxas blinked a few times, taking in the energy that seemed to come off from his words. It was still new to him to have someone so full of energy always asking him questions and talking to him. But he was told that was how Vanitas and Sora were and he would get used to his brothers in no time.

"Talk?"

"Yeah talk."

"What you wanna talk about?"

"About your wristband," Vanitas said before pointing to the little checked wristband that was on Roxas's arm.

"Oh. What about?"

"Why are you always wearing it? Don't you ever wanna take it off?"

"Umm… Ahh… I dunno."

Vanitas wrinkled up his nose. "You don't know? How can ya not know?"

Roxas frowned. He didn't get what Vanitas was asking him. He didn't understand it either. He thought that everyone should have had a wristband like his, but everyone he met never did. Well there were some who did, but they were different and could take them off. He never could take his off his wrist, only fold it back to see his name on there.

"I dunno," Roxas answered again.

"You already said that," Vanitas replied before moving in closer.

"But… But I dunno," Roxs said again, not knowing what else to say. "Should I know?"

"I think you should! It's weird that you can't take it off! You've worn it every day since dad brought you home. Have you seriously been wearing it since before you were three?"

"Uh… how long ago is 'before I was three'?' Roxas asked.

"It means all the numbers that come before three," Vanitas replied sharply.

"Oooh. Um… let's see…" Roxas held up his hand. "One, two, three. I think so. I been wearing it that long."

"Ugh, this is going nowhere. Why don't you let me take it off and see what's with it."

Vanitas reached forward without warning, his hand wrapping around the wristband. He halfway expected Roxas to fight against it, but his new younger brother did no such thing. It would seem that Roxas was curious like he was with him looking back and forth between Vanitas and the wristband.

"What you doing?" Roxas asked simply, not really moving too much more.

"Well I said I wanted to take off the wristband. Just gotta get a good grip on it…"

Vanitas started to pull on the wristband, and it did start to budge a bit. But it was surprisingly much harder than he thought it would be. "Wow, what's this thing made of-"

He couldn't finish his sentence as a bright light emitted from the area around the wristband. Vanitas was suddenly pushed backwards by some sort of shockwave, as it lifted him off his feet. He lande a few feet away from Roxas, who was perfectly fine and still sitting where he was. A look of shock, then fear ran across Vanitas's face.

"W-What in the- What was that!?" he spoke with a shaky tone.

Roxas nearly looked scared with a shocked expression on his face too. "I dunno… I saw bright light and then you were there," he said, pointing at his older brother.

"But… but that doesn't… D-Dad!" Vanitas suddenly shouted.

A moment later the red headed father came running into the room followed by a little boy who almost looked identical to Vanitas except his hair was brown and his eyes blue.

Right away his father ran closer to Vanias. "Hey! What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's Roxas's wristband!" Vanitas shouted as he pointed to it. "It's all weird and stuff!"

"Weird? What do you mean?"

"I tried to take it off and then there was this light and it pushed me back!" Vantias stated before reaching out to his father. Even though whatever had happened was over, it still left him slightly shaken.

His father slowly picked him up and gave him a long stern look. "You know that you shouldn't go taking things from your little brother like that. Haven't I already explained this enough to you about not taking Sora's toys?"

"But this wasn't a toy! He never takes the wristband off! I just wanted to see what it was about… Something is weird about it!" Vanitas proclaimed.

"Is it really that weird?" Sora asked, who was now next to Roxas.

"I dunno. Vani tried taking off and then he was over there," Roxas replied.

"Well I think that we do not take off the wristband," Axel replied. "Okay? Let's make that a rule. Don't go playing with Roxas's wristband anymore, got it?"

Vanitas wanted to retort, but he decided against it. He and Sora each nodded in the direction of their father. "Yes sir," they both said in unison.

With them in agreement, the red-haired man turned to his newest son. "I know that you might not know what I'm talking about right now, but I'll figure something out about this at some point, okay?"

* * *

_Present Day_

"I was only three, but I never forgot that moment… hard to forget when your wristband does something weird and magical."

"Yeah, and I was pretty concerned about it too," Roxas's father replied. "And since then I have been trying to look into it, but there haven't been a lot of answers. Not till recently."

Roxas's eyes widened. "Huh? You mean you found out why I can't take it off or anything?"

His father shook his head. "Not exactly. But I found someone who could help maybe shed some light on the subject."

"So, that's good then right?"

"Yeah, I hope so. We will all be going to see her soon."

"When is soon, dad?"

"We will be going tomorrow. I'll tell Vanitas and Sora as well so they can be ready."

"You'll tell us what soon?" Sora's voice came from behind them.

"Yeah what is it? It's about Roxas right?" Vanitas followed up as he stood right beside his brother.

Their father sighed. "Okay I guess I'll tell you now. We are all going to see someone about Roxas's wristband. To put it simply."

"Aww but do we have to go?" Vanitas complained.

"Why don't you wanna go?" Sora questioned his brother. "I think it would be cool to see."

"I mean… I used to wanna know. I don't know… it's just stupid now."

"Hey Vanitas, watch your tone," he spoke sternly to the black-haired boy, who just shifted his head to the side.

"But, when are we gonna go dad?" Roxas spoke up. "I kinda wanna figure it out too."

"We're gonna be leaving early in the morning, around 7."

"What?!" Vanitas and Sora both yelled in unison.

"That's so early. I don't wanna go."

"Yeah, I'm with Vani now."

"Hey hey hey. That is when the woman can meet with us. This is my decision and that's what we are doing. Got it memorized?" he gestured to his head, but unlike usual, he gave a hard stare instead of a jokingly smirk.

Sora and Vanitas nodded in acknowledgement of their father. Roxas had already been looking forward to going, even though he was still unsure what to think about the whole situation. But he did want to find out about the item that had always been on his wrist as well. He felt an air of tension in the room at the moment though, but he was trying to figure out what to do.

"So, dad, what now then?" Roxas asked quietly.

"Well… there's not much else to prepare for besides just showing up at the place tomorrow. But for now, if your brothers behave, we'll watch some of that TV show you wanna watch."

"Ooh you mean the one about the secret organization?"

"Yep, that's the one."

All three of the boys were a bit more cheerful now as they tried their best to be good. Sora and Vanitas hopped up on the couch as they proceeded to get ready for their favorite show. Roxas was excited too, but his little mind kept wandering to the possibilities of the morrow. Would he find out something finally? He hoped he would, and it seemed like the longer he thought about it all, the further away it seemed.

He tried to shift his focus back to the show though after a slight nudge from his father. He looked up at the fiery redhead, who grinned down at him, as if telling him through a simple look to not worry too much. Roxas finally relaxed a bit more on the couch as they all enjoyed a bit of family time.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time is upong us again to post another chapter. More world building here we go!

Roxas clung to his father's hand as tight as he could. He thought he was going to be excited about this, but now he was just terrified instead. He had no idea how any of this was going to go or who exactly they were meeting. It didn't really help that his dad was just kind of quiet on the subject, leaving all the more to wonder about it.

Was this lady they were seeing actually nice? Was she good or evil? Could there be some plan behind it involving his bracelet? Roxas wasn't able to shake off these thoughts at all during the entire walk there.

"Hey, Roxas?"

"Huh?" Roxas looked up to meet the eyes of his father. "Yeah?'

"You think you could stop squeezing my hand so tight? I don't think it would be any good if you broke it," his father replied, chuckling slightly.

"O-Oh! Sorry dad!" Roxas immediately loosened his grip.

"It's fine. You're just a bit nervous right?"

"Hmm," Roxas nodded in agreement.

"Why should you be so scared?" Vanitas asked before yawning. It was still far too early in the morning for him.

"I'm just worried… What if the wristband is something bad?"

"I wouldn't think it is bad," his father replied. "It's never harmed or you caused anything bad before."

"Yeah, but then… why do we have to go get it checked then?"

"It's just a precaution, son. Remember what we talked about before with what happened when you were young. We just want some explanations, that's all. Besides, if we know what it is that you have there, then it will work out for us all. It will be okay. I promise," the redhead said as he eyed his spiky-haired child and smiled.

"Oh, okay then. Thanks dad," Roxas replied simply.

"How much longer do we have to go on for?" Vanitas yawned at the end of his sentence.

It seemed as though they had been walking for so long now, even though it had realistically only been about half an hour. According to their dad, the trek was actually only supposed to be a little over half an hour. Of course it all depended on how fast they were moving, but since they left so early in the morning, the boys were a little sluggish with their walking.

"Yeah, I'm with Vani. Why did we have to walk anyways?" Sora asked curiously.

Their dad stopped and turned to them, causing them to stop as well. "The sorceress we are going to see doesn't particularly fancy most modern man-made industrial technology. And, there's another 'reason' for it as well, just wait and see. Besides, this is a great way to get exercise!"

"Yay, exercise!" Roxas imitated.

"Now let's continue. We have an appointment and I would rather not be late. Might not be able to get another chance like this again," the father said, and let the way for them to continue their journey through the woods.

* * *

Eventually the group came to a small clearing. It looked quite barren compared to what they had been seeing, as there were trees all around them except for where they stood. It was almost like something had been there at one point.

Their father stopped and looked around. "I wonder why it looks like this…"

"Yeah, it's really weird, almost spooky in a way."

"Oh come on Roxas don't be a scaredy cat. It's just the way the forest is," Vanitas scoffed as he walked around the clearing. "See, nothing to worry ab-"

Vanitas dropped to the ground suddenly with a thud. "Ow, what did I hit?!"

"You okay?" his dad asked as he ran and knelt down to his son, who he quickly helped back to his feet.

"Yeah, I think so. Just a bit confused. There's…. nothing there."

The father raised up from the ground and walked toward the spot that Vanitas had landed at. He reached his hands out and started trying to feel the area. While his kids stood and stared at him with confused looks, he continued to seemingly search for nothing. But finally, his hand landed against something.

Small sparks seemed to eject from out of nowhere, as a force slightly knocked back his hand. "Ah, so this must be what I was told then."

"You were told, dad?" Roxas questioned aloud while Vanitas and Sora both stared at their father in agreement.

"The witch, mage, sorceress, whatever you want to call her. Where we will find her," he answered them.

He then turned back to the barrier. "Hello! I'm not quite sure how to get through. It's Axel, the one who sent for you! I was told to come to these coordinates!"

There was no answer to his call. At least, not at first.

Eventually a slight chill ran through the air and a light voice was heard. " _It's good to hear from you Axel. You may proceed forward now."_

"But uh…" Axel started. He had not expected a random voice to float overhead. It seemed all the boys could hear it too as they were frantically looking around for the source. "Vanitas just crashed into what I can assume is the barrier around your place?"

" _Yes. But now that you are here, I had allowed it to let you and your sons to pass through."_

"Oh… um okay." Axel slowly stepped forward. He reached out his hand slowly, and instead of hitting an invisible wall his hand actually went right through it. A light blue color swirled around his hand, most likely showing where the barrier was.

"Whoa!" all three boys murdered together.

Right away the three of them ran ahead through the portal, leaving Axel still half way standing through it. A moment later he recovered from his shock and proceeded through the rest of the way, and now that he was standing on the other side, his eyes widened.

Where he stood now still looked like a forest, but the land was much more vibrant and green than before. Plus, before him he saw a clearing with a large cottage rather than just more and more forest. At the same time, all of his boys also were staring at what they saw before them, each having their own look of shock and amazement.

"Wow! This is so cool! Real magic stuff!" Sora beamed cheerfully.

"It's so weird though," Vanitas added in.

Roxas, who was just as amazed as his brother, kept staring at the house that was in the clearing. Slowly, more curiosity filled him rather than just amazement. "So is that where we gotta go?"

"Yup, that should be her house. Come on, let's keep on going," Axel said as he walked alongside his boys into the clearing.

The four of them came up to the front of the house and waited for a moment. After that Axel stepped forward and knocked firmly on the door. "Uh, so we're here now?"

Seconds later the door opened and a young girl was standing in the doorframe. She had light blonde hair that draped over her shoulder and bright blue eyes. The outfit she wore was rather simple, with it just being a plain white summer dress. She stared curiously at the group before her and waited for one of them to speak.

"Ms. Lunafreya?" Axel asked after a moment.

The girl giggled, shaking her head. "No, that's my mother. I'm Namine."

"Oh… Oh! You know that totally makes sense now that I think about it," Axel said before laughing sheepishly.

"Come this way, mom's just in the parlor. We have tea and everything ready." Namine smiled at everyone before stepping aside to let them in.

"Wow, how about that. Nice hospitality and a quiet lovely house, wouldn't you say boys?"

"Yeah! It's really cool and it's hidden by magic!" Sora exclaimed as he started to look around.

Roxas nodded along. "I agree. I like it."

Vanitas, who was watching Namine carefully, kept close to his brothers. "Sure… I guess."

"So," Namine said as she closed the door. "What's all your names?"

As Namine came closer Vanitas stepped further away from her though he continued to stare with wide eyes. "Why do you care?"

"Vanitas," Axel said, using his strict tone. "Don't be rude."

Lowering his head he sighed. "Sorry…"

Namine giggled making Vanitas feel the slightest bit of embarrassment. "What an interesting name. I like it."

Vanitas felt even more flustered. "Whatever…"

Vanitas's brown haired twin grinned happily, completely oblivious to his brother's shyness. "I'm Sora!"

"Nice to meet you then, Sora," she replied sweetly with a smile.

She then turned her gaze towards the other boy in the room. "That means you must be Roxas then."

"Yeah, but how did you know?" he questioned her.

Namine giggled. "Well, you were the one we were told about after all so it only makes sense."

"We're almost there," she spoke again as they continued to walk until they were in another room.

The new room was smaller than the entrance, but everything within was so ornate. The entire room was nearly pure white, with the walls being lined with marble as well as the floor. There was a small table placed in the center of the room, with a few chairs positioned perfectly around the rest of the area. The walls were mostly barren, with only a handful of paintings or pictures lining the walls. It was a simple setup, but beautiful nonetheless.

"Wow, this is incredible," Axel commented upon taking a look around.

"Oh it's nothing much. This is just a simple layout," a new, more mature voice spoke.

All of them turned to see a much older woman, who looked around Axel's age enter the room. It was clear from just a glance that this was clearly Namine's mother. They had the same blond hair and blue eyes. Though her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, she did at least have bangs sweeping over her forehead. She even had a similar white dress like Namine's but hers was much longer.

"Ah, Ms. Lunafreya?" Axel said, trying again.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you Axel, but please you may call me Luna."

She walked over to him and shook his hand and then turned to the group of boys. She smiled kindly at them before speaking. "And it's nice to meet you too, all of you."

Right away the boys returned the greeting to her, but other than that, they kept quiet. It was hard to explain what they felt around her. She seemed nice, but there was something else to her. It was no doubt something with magic. That was what they all figured, but they had no idea exactly what it was she could do.

Luna laughed. "You're boys are completely adorable."

"Thanks, though I had no part in that. All adopted of course," Axel explained.

"I'm not adorable!" Vanitas interjected.

Luna bent forward slightly, placing her hands on her knees. Once she was closer to Vanitas's eye level she nodded at him. "Oh I see. You are very handsome instead, right?"

"Yeah! Sora can be the adorable one."

"Hey! I wanna be handsome too!" Sora replied. "And what about Roxas?"

"Fine you can be, but I'll be the most handsome!"

Roxas sent a glare to his older brother. "Who says you gotta be the most handsome?"

"Cause I'm the oldest."

"No you're not!" Sora said. "We're twins! You're not older."

"I was! Just a few minutes but still born before you so that makes me older."

"Whoa whoa boys, calm down," Axel said raising a hand. You are all perfectly handsome in your own right, but there's no reason to fight over it. And, it doesn't matter who is the oldest, you got that memorized.

The boys quieted down after that, they said their apologies and sighed deeply, waiting to see what would happen next.

"How about we get right to it, okay? Please have a seat," Luna said as she gestured to the chairs.

"Is this going to be a lot of boring talking? Like dad does sometimes with his friends?" Vanitas asked as he walked over to one of the chairs.

Axel cleared his throat. "Vanitas…"

"Oh it's quite all right Axel," Luna said. "He is still young and curious about the situation at hand. There will be some talking, yes. I will be doing my best to explain what I know about Roxas's wristband."

"Do we have to listen to the talking dad?" Sora complained with a tired look on his face.

"There's nowhere else for you to go, so yes you'll have to stay here," Axel retorted quickly.

"Actually there might be something," Luna started and turned to her daughter. "Namine, why don't you take Sora and Vanitas elsewhere so you all can play or do your own thing."

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea, mother." She then turned to the two boys. "Well, let's go then."

Sora looked excited. "All right we can go have fun!"

"At least it's better than being bored," Vanitas added in.

Namine then walked toward the two of them and grabbed them by the hands. "Okay' we're going now."

Suddenly, the three of them started to glow with a white light. It flickered in and out rapidly in amazing fashion. Both boys stood there with a shocked look on their faces, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"W-What's happe-"

In a flash they were gone before Vanitas finished his words. Axel and Roxas both widened their eyes with shock.

"Where did they go?" Axel asked with a worried tone.

"Don't worry, she only teleported them to another room. They're fine," Luna quickly spoke.

Axel seemed relieved. "Oh, okay I see."

"Woah so cool!" Roxas suddenly blurted out. "That's really awesome magic!"

Axel and Luna each couldn't help but chuckle at his lighthearted response. It was typical for a child to be enamored by such a display. But then again, that was exactly why they were there in the first place.

"Right, so speaking of magic, let's get down to business," the witch said with a more serious look on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah we added Luna and all, cause why not lol. We needed a good magic woman after all.


	4. Chapter 3

" _Right, so speaking of magic, let's get down to business," the witch said with a more serious look on her face._

"So you can tell me why my wristband is the way it is? Like it is really magic?"

"May I see it?" Luna said as she held a hand out. "So I may be sure."

Roxas shook his head. "I can't take it off. And if someone tries to, some strange magic stuff happens."

"I understand Roxas, just hold out your arm. I won't try and take it, okay?"

Roxas did as she said and slowly held out his arm. Now that he did, Luna gently placed his wrist in one hand while the other rested above it. With her eyes being closed, she started to chant something softly, words too hard to understand. She continued her words and some unknown force felt as though it was bearing down upon them in the room in a few short moments.

Axel and Roxas had no idea what was going on, but they could feel it. Axel felt his son grip his hand a little harder. Even as weird as it was, the spiky redhead was determined to see it through so that he could get some answers, so that they all could get some answers.

The phenomenon only lasted for a couple of more minutes, before the immense pressure slowly started to fade away. Luna soon quit her chanting and then opening her eyes back up. She wore a look of surprise on her face, as well as awe.

"This wristband…" she mumbled in a hushed voice. Her pale fingers ran over both sides of it, taking in how intricate it looked. She almost seemed like she was in a trance for a while, her focus on it never wavering in the slightest.

"Are you okay?" Axel questioned.

She snapped her attention up at the sound of another voice. "My apologies, I was lost in the moment. It's just…" she fell silent again as her gaze shifted back to the piece of jewelry on the boy's wrist.

"I would recognize the makeup of this magic that made the spell anywhere. It was my mother's," she bluntly stated.

"Huh?! Well, what does that mean then?" Axel spoke, confused.

"It's just, there's nothing much left of my mother. She died about 8 years ago now and entrusted all this to me. It's just probably… one of the last things she managed to do is all…"

Her mother meant a lot to her. She usually didn't talk about such things, especially with strangers, but seeing her mother's magic remnants again made her forget about all that. Sighing deeply she focused on the magic energy that was surrounding the wristband once more. Magic that had surely once belonged to her mother still remained, powerful and strong as ever.

"I'm sorry…" Roxas muttered.

"Oh there is nothing to be sorry about dear, my mother loved her job and I am very happy to see some of her work again," Luna replied, her voice gentle and soothing.

"So what exactly is this 'work' of hers anyway?" Axel asked.

"It's a very strong protection spell. The type that won't let any harm come to you."

"Won't let any harm come to me?" Roxas asked.

Luna nodded. "Correct. It is that powerful."

"But why do I have it?"

"I wouldn't know the exactness of that part I'm afraid. I would have to find my mother's old work books that are logged with every magic work she did for someone. But that shouldn't take long, just a bit of searching. But I can tell this," Luna said as she leaned forward closer to Roxas. "There was a reason that someone wanted a protection spell over you and you can see it has worked well."

"So… I can't ever take it off?" Roxas then asked.

"Oh no it is very possible to do so, all I need to do is add to the spell with another on top of it, but that would come at the risk of you being without the protection."

Axel hummed softly. "I am guessing you are probably going to say that it isn't a safe choice then, right?"

Luna looked to Axel, understanding his worry and concern. "In the end it is up to Roxas as it is a spell for him and his wristband."

"Up to me?" Roxas questioned, slightly unsure of what he had heard.

"Yes. It doesn't have to be right now, but if you ever want that extra spell you, may come and talk to me."

"Umm, okay then I guess. Maybe for now… I keep it. It hasn't done anything bad," Roxas replied.

"Well, let's just think about this for a moment. Why does he _need_ that then? I know what you said Luna, but still. Just seems very… odd," Axel rebutted, still unsure of the situation.

Luna straightened up her posture. Looking far more serious than before. "As I said, without the files from my mother I do not know the 'why' of this spell. The only thing we know is that Roxas needed a protection spell and that is it."

Axel let out a sigh. "All right, fine. I just… wanted to figure out something more. I'm glad for what you've told us. I'm grateful. Just worried for my son is all…"

"It's okay dad," Roxas began as he turned back to look at his father. "If it protects me, that means I can't get hurt then right? So you shouldn't have to worry."

"Sir, I understand that you may have concerns. Wanting to make sure your child is safe is completely reasonable, and the realm of magic is quite vast. But I assure you, that you can trust my mother's magic."

"Yeah yeah I get it," Axel said as he scratched the back of his head. "Just a lot to take in all at once."

"I know," Luna stated simply. "Besides, your son is right. This magic spell is powerful, so he will be protected with it anyways. I can probably guess that he's never gotten hurt before doing anything has he?"

"Well yeah… never a scratch on him. So I guess there's really some truth to all this…"

"Exactly. Now, I think that will just about wrap things up here," she stated as she arose from her chair. "Please wait for me here for a moment. There's something that I need to get for you before you go."

* * *

_Earlier_

Namine had grabbed Sora and Vanitas's hands and they watched everything around them fade away into a bright white. When the light faded the boys saw that they were now in a completely different location that before.

"Woah! Where are we?" Sora asked with awe in his voice.

"We are in my playroom!" Namine exclaimed. "Now we can have fun while my mom does all the important talking to your brother."

"You… You just made us come here?" Vanitas asked in disbelief. "How!?"

"Well, that should be obvious, silly. My magic powers of course," Namine simply said as she contained a giggle.

Sora's eyes widened with amazement. "So you really can do cool magic? Like what you'd read in storybooks or see in cartoons?"

Namine grinned widely. "I guess you could say it's like that. But I don't know a lot of magic yet. Mom still knows a lot more than me."

"It's still really cool though. I wish that I could do something like that!" Sora excitedly said.

Namine couldn't help but grin at his positivity. The boy seemed to be entranced by almost anything that seemed "cool" to him. It was a stark contrast to his brother.

"Eh, it wasn't _that_ impressive…" Vanitas sneered, still not impressed.

"Aw come on Vani, I know you thought it was cool!" Sora exclaimed as he frowned slightly at his brother's disinterest.

Vanitas grumbled something while crossing his arms. "Whatever. Still wasn't that cool."

"I can do other cool things though! I can show you!" Namine replied cheerfully. "Let me show you!"

Namine went over to a table and picked up a white notebook. She smiled proudly as she showed it to the boys. "This is my sketchbook, and these are some of my sketches." she began flipping through the pages, showing pictures of people and various other things. Eventually she stopped on a piece that had little sketches of people with wings.

"These are my fairy drawings. Now watch this!"

Smiling widely she raised one hand over the paper and the images began to glow. Before the boy's eyes they saw the images beginning to dance around the paper.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Sora exclaimed. "See Vani? That's so cool she can make her drawings do that!"

Vanitas looked at the drawings that had suddenly come to life. Despite how he tried to appear, he couldn't fake the expression that his face was giving. He was amazed at what he was seeing as his eyes grew slightly wide. It was hard to deny that it was magic that he was seeing.

"Wow…" he uttered very quietly.

"Huh? What was that Vani?" Sora asked.

Namine almost chuckled. "It seems that you must like them then."

Vanitas snapped out of his apparent trance. "Wait what? I mean, it's not super impressive…" he trailed off as he quickly turned his face away, embarrassment showing. "I guess it's kinda neat…" he once again uttered in a hushed voice.

"I knew it! Vani does like the magic," Sora exclaimed.

"So what?!" Vanitas yelled suddenly as he turned towards them, his emotions overcoming him. He didn't know why he had screamed since he wasn't mad. Embarrassment rose on his face again and he turned his body back around.

Namine laughed. "That's all right Vanitas. Maybe you'll come around to see more magic again. I'd like to show you more once I get to learn even cooler spells."

Vanitas only half turned around. "You'd… wanna show me more?"

"Maybe, yeah. But I guess that depends if you guys come back or not."

"Why wouldn't we come back," Sora questioned.

"Well, you're only here because of the meeting with the others and my mother. Once that's done, there might not be a reason to come back."

"But, what if we… ahh nevermind," Vanitas cut himself off before he could finish, but hung his head slightly.

Sora smiled and seemed to be bouncing with enthusiasm. "I bet if we both talk to our parents we could come back more! I know dad would probably let us come back to visit. Plus we're now friends with a witch, and that is the coolest thing ever."

"Yeah…" Vanitas added softly. He then glanced at Namine's sketchbook again that still had her drawings dancing around. "So um… what else can you do?"

"Oh! I got a lot of other things! I'll show you!" Namine said, sounding rather proud that she was getting a chance to show off some of her skills.

* * *

The three had no idea how much time had passed but soon enough Luna was knocking at the door to Namine's room. "Were you three having fun?"

Currently Namine had convinced the boys to join her in a mini tea party, but really it was just lemonade since none of the kids actually liked tea. Though of course it wasn't an ordinary tea party… everything from the chairs to the tea pot was floating.

They all looked to the side to see Naminè's mother Luna standing in the doorway.

"I guess that answers my question," she commented as she waved her hand slightly.

With that simple gesture, all of the items in the air, as well as the children, came gently floating down towards the floor. There was a look of excitement on the faces of Namine and Sora, while Vanitas seemed indifferent in the matter. Neither of the boys however chose to speak in that moment, slightly intimidated by Luna.

Namine quickly strode over to her mother. "Yeah we were having fun. They seemed to be interested in what I could do. Plus it gave me some good practice in front of others too."

Luna smiled. "But let's not get carried away, okay? Don't want you burning out your magic so quickly in one session, all right?"

"Right! I know mom!"

Luna smiled before placing a hand on top of her daughter's head. She then looked over to the two boys. "Your father is waiting for you downstairs."

Sora started to frown slightly. "Aw. We gotta go already?"

"I'm afraid so, we have already finished the meeting with your brother."

Quickly Sora thought to ask another question. "Did you ever find out why his armband has magic?"

"Yes, but I think that is something you should talk with your own brother for," Luna replied.

"Ah all right," Sora simply said.

"Naminè, I… it was um… fun," Vanitas admitted with a flushed face.

She nodded. "Maybe it can happen again someday."

Luna gave Naminè a side glance, but didn't say anything to her daughter.

The boys bid their farewells and left the room of their newfound friend. They hurried down the stairs and right away saw Roxas and their father standing at that same table, waiting for them. Axel smiled at them and placed a hand on each of their heads once they were standing right in front of him.

"So you boys have fun?"

"Uh-huh! We had a lot of fun. Namine showed us more of her magic! We had a floating tea party!" Sora explained hastily but excitedly.

"Wow, sounds like a real blast, but it's time to head on home how."

"Yeah, that does sound neat," Roxas uttered.

"So what's the word with you then?" Vanitas directed towards his younger brother.

"Not now," Axel stated. "We'll talk once we're back."

The family started to walk towards the front of the house where Luna was waiting for them. She opened the door before handing a small sphere to Roxas. "This is a calling orb. If there is anything you need, or anything I discover I can easily reach you this way. If there is ever the need to call me, all you must do is hold the orb and say my name. Understand?"

Roxas took the clear glass orb and held it in his hands. Slowly he nodded before placing it into his pocket. "Okay I understand, thank you!"

Now that it was out of the way, Luna said her farewells to the boys, with Namine right besides her. All of the boys waved back as they left the house, heading back out to head home after quite the intriguing day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More development with all the characters, just good litlte build ups. Next time though things will pick up even more!


	5. Chapter 4

_8 years later_

As it seemed like every summer, Roxas was always found to be staring outside. It wasn't that he was bored or had nothing else to do, he just enjoyed the serene look of everything. All at the same time he still felt like there was something else, something he was missing but he couldn't quite explain.

" _I've learned so much, yet I feel like I still know nothing at all…"_ Roxas sighed as he turned and finally headed inside. He knew that he couldn't just sit around on a perfectly good day like today, even if he wanted to. He had other things that he had to attend to… like his lessons.

It really had come as a shock to him, when a year after his first meeting with the witch Lunafreya, to learn that he actually had his own level of magic. He was far from the level Luna and Namine were on, but from what Luna could tell, his parents were in fact minor magic users.

It had been seven years since he found that out, yet there wasn't much else to go on. Luna had been unfortunately unable to locate the files regarding the spell on his wristband, leaving the mystery of his parents to remain just that. But the fact of all of it was that his parents had magic, which meant Roxas did too, and Luna had offered to teach him.

As he was walking towards the front of the house he saw Vantias standing by the front door, looking at Roxas as if he were expecting him. "Something up?" Roxas asked as he came to a stop.

"You're heading out to go to Ms. Luna's house again right?"

"Yeah, another day of training. You should know that right? You're coming with as usual."

"Well… I'd like to. But…" Vanitas trailed off, seemingly annoyed by something.

Roxas stopped in his tracks. "What's up?"

His brother sighed. "Work called me in today… I can't miss another day or I'll be in big trouble. Dad's been on my case too."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have skipped just to see her then."

"I can't help it! I mean, we are together after all. I take the chances that I can get with Namine, especially since her mother is so strict about it."

"I suppose that's true. She is a hard case…"

"Will you at least give her my good wishes then?" Vanitas asked with a red color across his cheeks, as he was clearly embarrassed.

Roxas thought to tease his older brother, but decided against the notion. It's not like that Vanitas was able to see her often anyways. "Sure thing bro."

"Thanks… I just feel so bad. This is our monthly meeting, and I can't make it. AHH!"

"Relax, it'll be fine. Besides, can't you just call her?"

"Yeah, but it's not the same…"

"You don't have to worry. You'll get another chance. Hey at least you're not like you used to be with it," Roxas found himself laughing at his older brother.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I still remember it all you know…"

* * *

_4 years earlier_

12-year-old Roxas was pacing around by the front door, waiting for his dad to be ready. "Come on dad, we're supposed to be there already."

Roxas had found himself growing more excited and curious over the past few years since Luna discovered that he could use magic. He had started to get a good grasp of things, but it was only the simple basics that he had learned so far. Luna said that he had to learn from the bottom before he could get to magic that would be normally learned at the age he was.

But that still made him so impatient. "Ahh, dad!"

"Just one more minute, Roxas!" his father shouted from the other room. "I have an important email to finish, so please just sit down and wait."

"Okay!" Roxas pouted before going to sit on the floor.

At that time Vanitas strolled down the hall, looking at his younger brother with an annoyed look. He didn't say anything though, he just gave his usually annoyed stare as he usually did when he was like that.

"What's up Vani?"

"You know what's up," Vanitas scoffed. "You're going out there again."

"Yeah, so?"

"And you're getting to see Namine again," Vantias replied as he crossed his arms.

"No?" Roxas half asked as he tilted his head. "Ms. Luna is the one who is teaching me, not Namine. She's usually doing something else."

"Well you still get to be there!"

"So? Why do you care?"

Vanitas sighed as he looked away. "It's just…"

"You wanna see her again?"

"What?!" Vanitas stared at his brother. "N-No! It's not like that. I just… uh… just whatever!"

"Why are you turning so red?" Roxas asked curiously before it hit him. "Oh! You _like_ her then."

"I-I never said that! What gives you a dumb idea like that…" Vanitas trailed off and crossed his arms.

"It's written all over your face now!"

"You know," Axel's voice came from behind them. "It really is quite easy to tell, Vanitas."

The raven-haired boy only huffed and turned away from his father and brother.

"Well, we're off now. Take care of things around here while I'm gone. And no parties. Got it memorized?" Axel repeated the same motion that always accompanied that phrase as he gave a smirky grin.

Vanitas only nodded but didn't say another word to them.

"Wow, I wonder what I'll be able to learn today!" Roxas spoke energetically as he and his father started up the winding path again.

"I don't know, guess you'll just have to see when you get there."

Vanitas followed them outside and looked towards them leaving. To his surprise, Roxas turned back and glanced his way and waved at him while smiling widely. Vanitas only locked eyes with him for a second but didn't do anything else.

"Stupid…" he muttered under his breath as he went back inside and closed the door to the house.

* * *

_Present Day_

"Yeah…" Roxas continued. "At least you're not as sensitive anymore, haha."

"Sure, I guess so. Whatever, just get going already or you'll be late," Vanitas abruptly replied.

"I'll be sure to tell Namine you love her," Roxas said, teasing slightly.

With reddened cheeks, Vantias puffed them out. "Yeah, thanks."

Roxas turned and started walking up the familiar winding path once again. It wasn't a long walk to the center of the forest, at least not now. But it was still enough time to think. So many thoughts crept through his mind as he went. What would he learn today? How long would he be there this time? Was he really making any progress? Would he be okay by myself this time?

That last one was unexpected. That fact just entered into his mind. He was traveling by himself there for the first time today. It was a strange feeling, but only because he was not used to it. He was sure things would be fine. After all, he was already 16 _and_ he knew magic now.

"Yeah, I'm sure things'll be fine."

As he said that, he felt that emptiness in the pit of his stomach form again. He still couldn't figure out what it was. He had asked Luna many times, but she didn't have an answer for him either. Or, if she did, she concealed it from him. But far be it from him to suspect her of such things. That feeling had been like that for as long as he could remember. But it caused him to think even more.

"Just wish that I knew what it was…"

"Wish you knew what?" a female voice appeared out of nowhere.

Startled, Roxas bolted his head up to find the source of the voice. To his surprise, Luna was standing right in front of him as if awaiting his arrival. He was surprised that he had already journeyed the full length, but since he had been lost in his own head, he had not been keeping track anyways of where he was.

"Oh, it's just you Miss Luna."

"Is something the matter?"

"No, it's just I didn't expect for you to meet me out here."

"Ah yes. I sensed you coming, alone this time. So I figured it would be best for me to meet you here to lead you in."

"Oh, okay then," Roxas uttered faintly, but the uneasiness soon lifted and was replaced by a sense of anticipation. "So, what are we gonna do today?"

Luna snickered. "You're impatient as always. Don't fret, you'll see once we're there. Come now."

* * *

When the training had commenced, Roxas felt tired as usual. Though, he wasn't as exhausted as he usually had been, which made him think that maybe he was getting better. Mental exhaustion had begun to take over after he had finally stopped. He sighed deeply as he flopped onto the couch, letting out a long exhale. As he lay there, he could feel some of his muscles beginning to ache. It seemed he had worked harder than he thought.

Eventually Luna came back into the room with a cold glass of water. She held it out to him and sat across in her chair. "You did good in this session, Roxas."

"Thanks," Roxas said in between his sips of water.

"You are free to go after you finish up."

"Huh? But don't we usually go for much longer?"

"Yes, but I have some other work I need to attend to. Besides, I think you showed you're getting better too. So enjoy the rest of your day," Luna replied.

"Oh! Thank you Ms. Luna!" Roxas said happily.

"Yes," she said before standing up. "I just only hope that it is enough…"

Her words at the end were soft, Roxas barely even caught what she had said. But before he could try and ask, she walked off into the next room. Not knowing what she was talking about, he shrugged and went back to enjoying his water.

After he finished he left the glass on the table and started to head on out of the house. On his way there, Namine came down the hall and he stopped to face her. "Hey Namine."

"Hi, Roxas."

"Sorry, Vani wasn't able to come today, you know work and all."

"I figured as much. But I was going to call him later anyways," Namine replied as she laced her fingers together.

"But you know, he still loves you and stuff. He kinda wanted me to tell you that."

Namine laughed lightly. "Thank you, Roxas."

"So did your lessons go well today?" she continued.

"Yeah, I think so. She said that I was getting better, and even let me off early."

"Wow that's great! But it's strange for mother to not keep you for the full time. She doesn't even let me off early."

"Oh, yeah, she said there was something that she had to do. So I don't know."

"Strange, she didn't mention anything to me about it…" Namime trailed off deep in thought.

"Anyways!" she started back up after only a few seconds. "You're still a long way from catching me though," she teased.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I'll be there before too long though. Maybe…"

Roxas shifted slightly, not sure what else to talk about in the moment. He wanted to stay, but he also didn't want to feel too awkward either. It was such a pain.

Namine suddenly shouted.

"What's wrong?" Roxas worriedly asked.

"I just remembered… mother wanted me to go to the greenhouse and work with the plants in there. That was a few hours ago. Oh no… she's gonna kill me."

"Well let's hope not. You need some help with it while I'm here?" Roxas offered.

"No no, I'll be fine. Besides, I'm supposed to do it myself anyways. She would notice the difference in what was done anyways."

"If you say so. Well, I won't hold you up then. I'll see you the next time then," Roxas said as he walked off towards the exit.

"Kay, bye! Be careful!" Namine's voice echoed behind him.

He didn't look back, only kept walking forward until he got to the wall. Since he had been training under Luna, she had recently entrusted him to be able to enter into her domain on his own using his magic. He was still amazed at how it worked too as he stopped to think about it, which he did every once in a while.

' _This barrier can only be accessed through my magic and Namine's. But now, yours as well. Only our magic circuits can unlock this pathway. Even if someone else knows the incantation, it won't work. Remember that well.'_

That's what she had told him just a few months ago. This was only the third time he's had access to be able to do it. He changed a few words, and then suddenly the barrier opened up to the forest on the other side. He stepped through quickly and right when he exited, the barrier faded away behind him.

"Well, what to do now?" he pondered aloud as he looked around him.

The sun was still up in the bright, blue sky a bit more since he was leaving slightly earlier than usual. He didn't feel like going straight home, but wasn't really sure of anything else that he could do by himself. He took out his phone to look at the time. It was only a few minutes past 6 now.

He thought hard about something to do when he finally had an idea. "I'll go down to the beach to swim. Relieve some tension from the training. Yeah!"

He began to trek down opposite of his house towards the lower area of the town since there was a path through the forest which led there. It was way faster than having to go all the way around, despite there being some steep drop offs along the way, Unknown to his father, he had traversed that way many times, so he knew it almost like the back of his hand.

He was about halfway down there when he felt a buzz in his pocket. He pulled out his phone to see a message from his brother Sora.

' **Hey when you get free, we were going down to the**

**beach to just have some fun for the rest of the day.**

**Dad said it was fine. Vani said we're going with or**

**without you, so hopefully you're able to come.'**

Roxas couldn't help but laugh. He clicked on Sora's icon and clicked the call button before putting the phone to his ear. In just a moment he heard an answer from the other line.

"Hey Sora."

" _Yo! Roxas, what's up? Aren't you still training?"_

"Nah, Ms. Luna let me go early today. So I can totally head down to the beach, plus I could use a good swim after training."

" _Awesome! Well I still gotta wait for Vani to get off of work, but meet us down there and we will try to be over as soon as we can,"_

"All right, can do. See you later:"

After he hung up, he picked up his pace and headed down to the shorefront as quickly as he could. When he got down there, he saw that it was empty, and no one was actually there today as of yet. He didn't mind though as he stared out to the open sea. It all looked so tranquil and peaceful with the waves gently rolling in against the now setting sun. The ocean breeze caressed his face as he took in the aroma of the saltwater.

Though in the corner of his eye, he thought he noticed something. A small bit of splashing just a little ways out into the waters. Curious, Roxas kicked off his shoes and pulled off his socks as he got closer to the water. There he saw it again… something splashing out in the water… and he couldn't tell what it was.

Feeling the cool water rush against his legs he waded into the water until he was deep enough to start swimming. He got out farther until he thought he was in an area where he could dive under to soak up his entire body. He took in a deep breath and slowly lowered himself into the water.

Roxas began to quickly scan all around the area, but he never saw anything. Though, it was getting difficult to see since there was only about an hour left of daylight.

" _I could have sworn that I saw something…"_ he thought to himself. " _Maybe it was just a couple small fish after all."_

He poked his head back up for air, deciding that he was just going to relax in the water for a little while until his brothers arrived. He leaned back against the watery surace and held his legs out slightly under the water and floated peacefully.

"This really does feel nice after all that training…" he admitted aloud.

Then, he felt something brush against his legs slightly. He suddenly jerked his legs down as he stayed floating there. His breathing increased as he began to worry. Should he go back under once again? It was probably nothing though, just like a few minutes ago.

Just as he tried to begin relaxing, something bumped his feet again.

"Okay this is ridiculous! All I wanna do is relax," he huffed with an irritated voice.

He plummeted his head under the water to try and see what was down there now. Before he even had time to think, his heart skipped a beat. What was in front of him right now allowed so many questions to form in his mind. Was there a mirror down here below the water? Surely not. But what else could explain…

The thing, or rather person, in front of him wore the same face as he did. It was like he was looking directly at himself, which admittedly was weirding him out. He and the other boy both stared into each other's deep, blue eyes. Finally, Roxas broke away and noticed something else. Something that was not normal by any means. His eyes darted back and forth.

Not only did this boy look like him, but he also had… a tail!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got delayed on posting cause of a lot of things, but hey we are still writing this story so we hope you all still are enjoying!


	6. Chapter 5

Roxas still couldn't believe what he was staring at. This boy… or whatever he was seeing, was a complete copy of him. Down to the number… with the exception of that tail. Roxas opened his mouth to say something, to try and ask what he was seeing, but the salty water filled his mouth.

He had forgotten he was even underwater! He broke back up to the surface and started to cough, trying to make sure that he didn't swallow any of the water. He kept it up until he felt like he could breath normally. Now that he was floating about the water though he had a bit more time to think without the fear of running out of air.

" _What was that? Was I really seeing myself but with a tail? I couldn't just be imagining it…"_

With a deep breath he plunged under water again only to see that there was nothing there. He turned his head in every direction, up, and down, but could not find the boy with the tail anywhere. He quickly brought his head back up above the water and decided to walk back to shore.

A look of confusion spread on his face as he looked out toward the ocean again. "Did I just imagine that? Maybe I'm just too tired from the training…"

He stood there for a few more seconds until he heard a familiar voice.

"Heya, Roxas!" Sora's unmistakable cheery voice yelled.

Turning around Roxas faced the shore and saw Sora smiling and waving to him. "You already started without us? No fair!"

"It's swimming!" Roxas shouted back as he started to swim closer. "There isn't any fair way to swim or not swim when waiting."

Vanitas then walked closer to Roxas, raising an eyebrow. "And you just went in with all your clothes on? Didn't even take off your shirt?"

Roxas looked down and completely forgot that he had just ran into the water with all of his clothes on. "Whoops… guess I got too distracted to realize."

"Distracted? With what?" Sora asked.

"I thought I had seen something out there… and went to check… but I think my eyes were just playing tricks on me."

"Playing tricks on you? Like what could you see out there?" Sora asked curiously.

Roxas thought about telling them for a moment. They were his brothers, so he was sure they would listen. Then again, because they were his brothers, he also figured they might make fun of him as well.

"I, uh… don't really know. Like I said, just thought I saw something. Don't know what it was…"

"Well, whatever. Doesn't matter anyways," Vanitas started. "Did you see Namine?"

Roxas's aloof status suddenly disappeared when his brother spoke up to him. "Oh, yeah I did. Told her what you wanted me to. She said the same thing back, and that she's planning to call you later."

"Thanks for that. Now, let's stop waiting around and hop in already!" Vanitas yelled as he ran and bolted into the water, taking off his regular shirt in the process.

"We brought your swim trunks," Sora explained. "They're in the bag, though if you are already wet why change right?" Sora laughed a bit before going to chase after Vanitas.

Roxas sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." But Sora had already gone, so there was nobody there to hear him.

He kept pondering the encounter he had just had though, not being able to get it off of his mind. As much as he wanted to pretend that he didn't see it, that he was imagining things… he knew deep down it was real. It _felt_ real. It was hard for him to explain, but it's like he could feel something from the other boy, but he had no idea what it all meant. He stared endlessly and emotionlessly out towards the ocean, looking straight through everything.

"Hey zombie!" Vanitas yelled out.

Roxas snapped from his trance at the call. "Wait, huh, what?"

"You gonna come in, or just stand there like an idiot? You were here before us anyways."

"Yeah, come on Roxas! We wanted you to join us," Sora chimed in.

"Fine fine, just give me a minute! I'm coming!" Roxas yelled out, a slight annoyance in his voice, mainly towards Vanitas.

He hated being called a zombie, even though he knew that he looked like one when he got lost deep in thought. Which, that admittedly happened a lot. Either way he wasn't going to sit around and waste the rest of the day just thinking. He was going to have fun and that was just what he planned to do.

Since he was already soaked in his clothes, he really saw no need to change. Though he did take off his shirt just to make the weight a little less than before. Once that was out of the way he ran back into the water, chasing after his brothers.

They played around, swimming after one another and splashing each other. Time slipped away and eventually Vanitas headed back onto the shore to check the time. Though when he got to where they left their stuff he turned around, now holding his phone in his hand. "Namine wants to call. I'm going to talk to her right now okay?"

"Really, Vani?" Sora sighed over dramatically.

"What?" he asked. "She's my girlfriend. I talk to her whenever I can."

"Oh it's fine Sora. Let Vani go and tell her how much he _loves_ her," Roxas teased.

"Heh, whatever. I'm heading back towards the house. See ya there," Vanitas said towards the two as he turned his back to head home.

Sora sighed. "I don't understand him sometimes."

"But you're his twin, aren't you supposed to understand him better than anyone?" Roxas asked jokingly.

"Yeah but we don't always have the same mindset. I guess I just don't understand love like he does," Sora replied with a shrug.

"I guess so…" Roxas trailed off, not knowing how to fully respond. "Anything you wanna do now then?"

"Hmm, I think I'm going to hit the bathroom really quick. Maybe I might dry off after that. I'll let you know when I'm back."

"Oh all right then. I guess it is getting kinda late huh?" Roxas replied.

Just then he heard something from behind him. When he looked, he saw there were some ripples formed in the water closer to the shoreline than the last time.

Could it be him again? " _No, your mind is just playing tricks on you. You're just really tired."_

"What was that?" Sora asked, surprised.

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"In the water. It's like something came up or something. But I didn't see anything."

"Uh, I don't know. I didn't see anything. Maybe it was a fish or something?" he tried to divert his brother away from it, as it was making the prospect of what he thought all the more real.

"This close to the shore though? That would be kinda odd."

Sora was right. And Roxas knew that as well. Fish didn't come that close. That was a lame excuse, but it was the only one he had. It's not like Sora suspected anything anyways, so it should be fine.

"Well then, I really wouldn't know then…" Roxas trailed off.

There was a brief moment of silence between the two of them. Almost like nothing had happened at all, Sora's demeanor changed.

"Well, anyways, I gotta go real quick. I'm about to burst," he chuckled as he ran off towards the facility just up towards the inner beach area.

Now that Roxas was alone he started to move towards the area that he had seen the movement in. He kept telling himself that it had to have been nothing. Surely it was nothing because seeing himself but with a tail was far too strange. Then again… he knew of magic, so it wasn't too out of the question.

Coming closer to the area, he wading out slightly until he could feel the ground beneath his feet start to go downhill in a dropoff. He stayed there as he stared, as if that would make something appear out of the water.

But much to his surprise something did break the water's surface and once again he was met face to face with his mirror image.

"Ah!" Roxas shouted before he stumbled back. "So you are real!"

The look-alike stared, his eyes growing wide. "You… you sound like me."

Roxas heard the voice of the boy speak… and it was entirely true. Though maybe this look-alike sounded a bit more gentle with his tone. Or maybe he spoke softly because he was shocked. Either way, there was no doubting that there were similarities between the two, and they both stared at each other intently with wonder.

Roxas began to reach his hand out towards the boy, almost as a way to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. Even though he could see him, he wanted to 'feel' if it were real.

The boy replicated Roxas's motions, extending his hand toward the other. The same thoughts must have been running through his mind as they both tried to figure out each other and what this meant.

Their left hands met, pressing firmly against one another… and that was when they saw it. The wristband on each other's hands. So similar yet there were differences. Roxas's had always been black with white checkers, but this boy… his wristband was white with black checkers.

"You have one too!" they exclaimed in unison, their voices blending almost perfectly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we forgot this chapter was written a while ago! Whoops! But hey look at this, the story is back on the tracks and ready to roll!! Hope you all enjoyed!!


	7. Chapter 6

Roxas was staring at the other boy, his eyes switching back and forth between his face and the wristband. The other boy was doing the same motions, as he couldn't believe what he was seeing either.

"Are you… real?" Roxas uttered out with a shaky breath.

"Course I'm real! Why wouldn't I be?" the boy almost sounded offended by the statement.

"But you… you have…" Roxas cleared his throat. "You have a tail."

"And you have legs… so this is weird for the both of us. But it's even weirder about that," the boy pointed to the wristband that Roxas wore. "Where did you get that?"

"I… I've always had it."

The boy looked far more curious than before. "I've always had mine too…" He hummed as he glanced over to the shore. "Okay you are going to come back here tomorrow after sundown okay? We gotta talk this out but when no one else is around, got it?"

"Wait! Hold on I can't just-"

The boy already went back into the water and was gone before Roxas could even finish his sentence. Only a faint ripple was left where he was before, but nothing after that. Roxas assumed that he must live deeper in the ocean, if the boy was what he thought he was.

"I didn't even get a chance to catch your name…" Roxas mumbled out before slowly starting to stand up.

He stared out at the ocean again with a longing glance. "Maybe I'll have to ask Luna about it the next time I see her."

"Ask her about what?" Sora's voice came from behind.

Roxas almost fell into the water, his brother's sudden words surprising him. He hadn't even realized that his brother was done with the bathroom, or that he had walked up behind him. He must have been more focused on that random boy than he thought.

"Woah what's the matter with you? You okay?" Sora asked as he helped to steady Roxas.

"Sorry about that, you just startled me. I-I'm fine."

"Hmm… well if you say so. So what were you thinking about?"

"Just… things. Stuff about magic. So, it'd be better if I ask Luna about it."

"I guess you're right. After all, I don't know anything about it…" Sora tapered off. "Well, you wanna head back? It's almost night time now."

"Sure thing, that sounds like a good idea," Roxas replied, his mind only half focused on what his brother was saying.

He just couldn't stop thinking about the boy with the tail. The boy that looked like him. The boy that sounded like him. The boy that had a wristband just like him. And then he felt that strange feeling again, like there was some sort of… force there. He became too lost in thought to focus on anything else the entire walk home.

* * *

When the following evening came, he headed out of the house. It wasn't entirely super late as the sun had just set, so he was thankful he didn't have to sneak around. He did let his dad know though that he was just going for a walk. He just hoped his dad would believe him and not question it.

He brought a flashlight with him since the beach was not properly lit, but even then he wasn't sure where he had to be looking. Sighing, he just kept walking forward.

_"Did I really see him? A merman who looks just like me?"_

Now that he had a day to think it over, he at least realized it had to be a merman that he saw. He had read about them before, but he thought that they were just legends overall. After all, it was only a few years ago that he learned there was magic in the world in which they lived. So it wasn't outside of the realm of possibility that a magical creature such as that could exist as well. Despite that fact, it still seemed rather odd to Roxas.

But that still left him to wonder… Why did a merman share his appearance? He still couldn't wrap his head around it at all. He assumed it just had to be an odd coincidence. Right?

He kept walking and thinking until he was at the shoreline again. He started looking around at the water for any signs of activity, but there was none. It was a low tide tonight, so the water was quite calm. Though, it was only at that moment that Roxas realized something: they had never really settled on an exact time to meet. Would he have been expected before dark, or maybe after he was here now? He knew he was overthinking, but his mind couldn't stop processing.

Seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes felt like they dragged on for an eternity as he waited. Luckily, he had his cell phone with him, so he took a seat on a nearby rock, and started playing his favorite mobile game: Nobody's Cause. It was an easy enough game to get hooked on, especially since it was based around his favorite animated show about the Organization.

After a while longer, he checked the time on his phone and was surprised. "It's already been a half hour?!"

Maybe the boy just wasn't going to show up after all. Why had Roxas gotten his hopes up anyways about it? He was curious of course, but maybe he was hallucinating after all the work he put in yesterday. In fact, that's what he was starting to believe now. Waiting just wouldn't do, and he didn't want to be out there all night by himself.

"Well, guess I'll just leave," Roxas mumbled to himself as he stood up from the rock he was sitting on.

Just as he was ready to head off he heard a splash from behind. "Hey wait!" The lighter sound of his voice called out. "Don't leave! I'm here okay?"

Roxas turned around and saw the look-alike boy sitting himself up on the rock, his tail swaying back and forth in the water. If confirmation was what he was hoping for, it was now staring him directly in the face. Looks like he wasn't crazy after all.

"Well, I guess you are real then," Roxas breathed out, trying to hold his cool composure.

"Of course I'm real! You saw me the last time remember? Just yesterday," the other boy protested.

"Yeah, but… well this is all weird to me," the non-tailed boy rebutled.

"Same to me! Like how was I supposed to know there was a human who looked just like me!"

"Hey… I have a name you know…" Roxas said as he walked closer to the merboy. "It's Roxas."

"Well it's nice to meet you then! I'm Ventus."

Roxas had to blink a few times, reminding himself why he was there. "Yeah... yeah okay. Ventus. So you wanted to talk right?"

"Yeah, I did. It's just that this is all so weird. So I thought we'd talk. Though...you're the first human I've ever talked to," he said casually as he flapped his tail in the water.

"Wait really? What were you doing up by the surface then? Just watching?"

Ventus tilted his head up for a moment, as if he was going to say something. He opened his mouth, but then paused for only a couple seconds.

"I'm just...curious. But usually shy. Something just kinda, drew me to you I guess. I don't know..."

"Well..." Roxas lifted up his wrist. "We both have this wristband. That's a start I guess."

Ventus nodded. "Yeah, that's right. But why would we both have one? I always assumed it came from the human world but I never expected to find someone else wearing one."

Roxas shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me. I'm not sure where it came from. I only know that I can't take it off. Is… yours the same?" he questioned with widening eyes.

There was another nod. "I can't take it off at all! I've tried and so have my friends… it didn't really go well. But I can bend it back a bit and I can see some writing on it!"

"Does it have your name and a date on it then? I'm willing to bet it does!" Roxas exclaimed as he pulled his wristband back to reveal what was on his.

"Whoa wait seriously?" Ventus gawked. His eyes widened as he saw the writing on Roxas's wrist band. "That's… That's the same date that's on mine." Ventus slowly peeled back the wrist band to reveal the truth of what he said. The names were different yes, but the date on the wrist bands were exactly the same.

A large gasp emanated from Roxas's mouth. He tried to speak, but stumbled over his words, only creating silent muffles before finally catching himself. "The… same? And, we look the same too. Do you think that means?"

"How should I know! Unless there is some weird thing about a Mer and a human being born on the same day I wouldn't know. It's so weird though. I can't figure out why else we would look alike."

"Well, we're definitely not the same race or anything like that. I don't know. Surely it can't be a coincidence…" Roxas trailed off as he grunted and stood up, pacing around the shore area in a constant circle.

"Well what could it be? Maybe there is something you can look into? I know there are some books of old magic and stuff that I could read. I don't know if it would help though," Ventus suggested.

"Wait, so you all actually have books down there too?" Roxas couldn't help but ask as his curiosity piqued.

"Yeah? Why wouldn't we?" Ventus asked as he titled his head to the side. "Everyone has books after all."

Roxas shifted his feet slightly, feeling embarrassed at what he had said. ' _Stupid, you should have known that,'_ he spoke internally. ' _Maybe they just got some magic waterproof books or something.'_

"Um, yeah, I uh, guess you're right about that…"

"It's okay! I guess you would have a lot of questions if you never met a Mer before."

"Sure, I guess so. Hey! Speaking of that I have another question."

Before he could continue, a loud ringing noise started emitting from his person. He patted his front pocket until he reached in and pulled out his cell phone. Looking at the screen told him who it was. His eyes rolled as he slid the button over to answer.

"Yeah, hey what's up dad?" He asked calmly.

" _Checking in. It's starting to get dark, you heading home soon?"_ his father asked from the other end.

"Yea, I will be. Didn't realize how late it had really gotten."

_"Well get back here soon, okay?"_

"Yeah, I know I know. I'll be back there soon then okay?"

 _"Good. See you then,"_ his father replied before the call ended.

Roxas put the phone back into his pocket and turned to face his doppelgänger. "Guess we'll have to do this another time. It's late and I'll have to be home soon."

"Aww okay, but we are getting somewhere! Can feel it! We just need to figure out more cause like I really want to understand this. Especially the wristbands."

"Yeah, me too…" Roxas tapered off. "Well, uh, do we want to like, plan for another time then? Say maybe… four days from now? I'm free that evening."

Ventus nodded. "That can work! So yeah! Let's see what we can find out about the wristbands. There's gotta be something out there after all, right? And maybe about us looking alike too."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you then. I gotta run, literally," Roxas said quickly as he darted off.

As he jogged, he threw one glance back towards the water where he just was. His lookalike waved and then slowly dove back into the water, a tail flapping up at the very end. Roxas averted his gaze back in front of him and tried to get back to the house as soon as he could.

' _Wow, okay, that really just happened. Wait til I tell dad! Well maybe not, he might think I'm crazy. Then I wouldn't be able to go out anymore. Ugh, I want to tell someone though… maybe I can figure it out later."_

Meanwhile, Ventus was swimming down deeper into the waters. His thoughts were racing a mile a minute, and he could barely contain his excitement. Today had truly been an exciting day and he found himself glad that he actually chose to go and visit the surface.

" _Oh man! I can't wait to get to the bottom of this! Can't wait to tell the others too! They will totally freak when they hear about this!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot is starting to kick into gear! So many questions to he answered one day!!


End file.
